Last month you learned how to make your own marking gauges. Now learn how to use them! This video contains an old segment called "Pappy Nubs Tool Chest," which discusses the types of gauges out there, and gives you some tips to help you use them effectively.

NEW: X-Y Drill Press Table

Take your drill press to new levels of productivity with this innovative, homemade table. It's loaded with features, from integrated dust collection, a quick-remove fence, low profile bit storage, and more. But the most impressive feature is the X-Y sliding table mechanism. In the video below you'll see just come of the way such a feature can change the way you work, and with time you are sure to think of all sorts of other uses!

This fun little video demonstrates the power-carving of an eagle. But not just any eagle, this is a reproduction of a very old piece of folk art found in an antique sale. It's a piece of history! (It was also our fist experience with the Arbortech Mini-Grinder. See how it turned out!)

Q- I bough some kiln-dried oak from a dealer that was already milled flat and straight, with no visible defects. But when I ripped it into narrower boards, they warped and twisted. What happened?

A- Your wood was likely "case hardened." This can happen when it isn't dried properly. A simple way to explain it is, when the outside wood fibers dry (and therefore shrink) at a much faster rate than the inner fibers, tension is created. That tension may be held in check by those outer fibers- until you cut into the board. The tension is then released, and the board warps. This is considered a serious defect, and cause for returning the material to the dealer or mill. A good mill will steam their boards at the end of the drying process to minimize this effect.

How can you determine if a board is "case hardened?" Unfortunately you can't tell just by looking at it. You have to do a test. Starting from about 2" from the end of the board, crosscut three or four 1" pieces. Then, lay those pieces so that one of the fresh cut end-grain faces is facing up, and cut a couple of kerfs into the end, like you are making tines on a fork or comb. If the "tines" quickly bend inward, closing the kerfs, the wood is case hardened.

For a more detailed discussion, including drawings to illustrate the above process, download this document from the US Forestry Service (PDF File)

Q- I've heard that some turners make their own scrapers from old, metal files. Is this safe?

A- Many wood turners have made their own tools over the years, either to save money, or because they required something that wasn't available to them commercially. Old files have long been a popular source of tool steel because used ones are cheap and abundant. But some caution should be used.

Files are very hard and older examples can be brittle when compared to the sort of steel that turning tools are usually made from. So it is a good idea to avoid overextending a tool made from a file past your lathe's tool rest. Less than in inch of overhang is preferable. Also, avoid using file stock that is too thin. Look for heavy duty examples that are 1/4" thick or more. Lathe tools take a beating. You don't your homemade scraper to shatter, possibly becoming a dangerous projectile.

(Have a question you'd like answered? Send us an email. We may answer it in a future edition of this column, or we may even include it in one of our Q&A editions of Behind the Sawdust!)

IMPROVE YOUR WORKSHOP

Mustache Mike Classic Episode:

Scroll Saw Blades

This classic episode from the old "Mustache Mike's Corner" web series takes a look at scroll saw blade types and a whole lot more!

Our MEGA SLED was designed to work with all sorts of joinery attachments, and we're working on more as we speak! This one is actually a pair of jigs designed to cut through-dovetails that look as if they were made by hand. COMING IN THE NEXT ISSUE of Stumpy Nubs Woodworking Journal!

This is one handy tool! Based on the popular Rockwell BladeRunner saw that has been on the market for several years, this homemade version will do all sorts of tasks that you may have never known you needed before! It is especially useful for creating cutouts in the center of workpieces where a band saw can't go!

Nobody can tell a story with video like Linn from the Darban Orvar YouTube channel. Even if I'm not going to make the project, I still love to watch her videos! That said, this is one great project in and of itself!

Art Rafael doesn't make many videos, but he does have a unique skill. He makes mineatures, including tiny tools. He even casts the metal parts himself using a lost-wax process. This facinating little video shows off some of his creations! (997s/763v)

Fine Woodworking's Jon Binzen was fortunate enough to sit down with one of the legends of our craft several years ago, before Krenov's death. Hear the master talk about his start in woodworking, his philosophy, and how it changed woodworking for a generation of craftspeople.